Never Let Go: A Life Is Strange Story
by FuerzaDelFuego
Summary: I understand Self-inserts are trash by default, but I hope that this one I've made isn't considerably awful. I've inserted myself, as terrible as I am, as Kate Marsh's boyfriend, and I attempt to not make a fool of myself as a writer as I try to tie my story into the events of the actual game. This story is full of sadness, love, angst, and fear, each in spades. Enjoy!
1. A Trail of Broken Hearts

Hello! This is my first fanfiction, and I know everyone hates self-inserts, I'd been rolling it around in my head for a while now, and I hope what I've written can at least pass as entertaining. I love Life Is Strange, and I could never get enough of Kate Marsh as a character. I hope y'all like what I've written, and I promise to post more in the very near future! Enjoy!

Today may have looked all right, what with the sun shining, only obstructed by a few clouds, and birds singing their usual melodies and whatnot, but God, it might as well have been a thunderstorm. It had been two whole days since my fight with Kate, and I couldn't help but think that streak was only going to grow indefinitely. It's a good thing Oregon gets cold this time of year much faster than Georgia, otherwise people would have looked at a guy in a hoodie like he had three heads. I didn't want to see anyone, and I wanted to make sure they didn't see me worth a damn either. Lord knows what they'll be thinking. Anyone at that damn party would be plastering pictures everywhere. I wish we hadn't even gone. I still kick myself for even considering the option. Both Kate and I disliked parties, but I guess she was more willing to admit that. I still can't convince myself that I don't want a damn thing to do with them. Part of me wished that it had been last night. I would have been too tired and depressed to move. I was still going to miss class, but at this point, I didn't care about anything. I just needed a walk to clear my head and go write. I was making good time to my car when a loud noise snapped me out of my blurry state.

It was the fire alarm. I couldn't remember if there had been a drill scheduled today, but it didn't matter. I was already outside the main building. Just as I was about to get back in my state, I saw a tall girl with blue hair run out the front door. I stopped in my tracks for a moment, taking into account her haste and demeanor. Something was wrong. Maybe there really had been a fire? Before I could continue that thought, however, the alarm was abruptly cut short. Students started exiting the building. I guess it was a perfect time for class to let out after all. I was about to keep walking through the crowd when I saw someone that made me immediately turn around. Max Caulfield. I've nothing against her, it's just that she's definitely heard what Kate has had to say about me. She'll want to tear me a new one. She may be quiet and introverted, but she didn't mess about when her friends were hurt. I must have been moving more slowly than I had thought, because within seconds, I felt a woman's hand tap my back three times. I jumped a bit, fearing the worst, and sure enough, it was Max. I guess it could have been worse. I wasn't ready to face Kate again after this fiasco, and I knew that a smarmy piece of sass from Victoria and her harpies would have sent me over the edge. This, however uncomfortable and apprehensive I was at the situation, was a welcome instance. She opened up with her usual kind, friendly tone.

"Hey, Daniel." She began without pressure. As nervous as I was to talk about the inevitable issue at hand, I was glad she would be the first person to ask me about it in a couple of days.

"H-hey… Max." I responded. My vocal chords were still not perfectly ready to talk with someone else, and I knew it. I wanted to take a guess at what she was going to say next, but she beat me to completion.

"Do you have a minute to talk? There's something important I need to discuss with you." She said. I sighed heavily, knowing I would only be able to keep up my cool façade for so long. I was hardly able to even think about the party without getting emotional.

"C-can we go somewhere private first? I don't want anyone else to hear." I could already feel myself cracking under pressure. We needed to leave the courtyard soon if I was to appear stable.

"Uh, sure. Lead the way, I guess." She responded. I simply nodded and gestured for her to come with me. My car would have to wait, but at least we could hide away from everyone else. We started in the direction of the lot, passing multiple students and nearly getting decapitated by Brooke's Goddamn drone on the way there. I growled to myself, thinking no one else could hear it, and we rounded the corner. We walked around the edge of the gym until I was sure no one could hear us, and as Max caught up to me, I took a deep breath and sank to the ground. This was going to hurt.

"Well, I'm sure by now you heard what happened at the party between me and Kate." I said as I forced my tears back.

"Yeah, I did. She seemed really scared and depressed in class today. What happened?" She responded. To hear that I had kept Kate scared for days after the incident was like getting shot in the chest with buckshot. My heart physically hurt at the very thought of causing her fear. Holding back my tears was becoming laborious.

"W-w-well… We went to the party, we got separated somewhere in the night, I got paranoid, and before I knew it, I couldn't find her at all. I had started texting her to try and figure out where she'd gone, but as if out of nowhere, I find her kissing some random guy. I immediately start seeing red, I…" I had to brace myself before I said anything else. "I… f-f-fucking tore her off the guy… a-and threw her to the ground…" My eyes were boiling with salty tears, and my throat was intent on choking the life out of me as I recounted the events of the night. I took a spare minute to control myself as I finished admitting everything. Max looked horrified. "And… And then I f-fucking started punching the guy as hard as I could… All I remember after that is her disappearing before I even turn around… and everyone looking at me like I'd killed the guy." I was sobbing uncontrollably at this point. I could barely finish my thoughts through my broken breaths. "Th-the w-worst part… i-is that I'm not even s-s-strong-ng-ng enough to say I'm sorry-y-y!" There I sat against the wall of the same building in which I'd paralyzed Kate with fear, broken a man's nose, and left wanting to die only a couple of nights before. All I could think about was how nice it would be to paint the wall just above my head red. I just kept crying and crying like a broken shell of a man, and even through all that, for whatever reason, Max still found enough empathy in her heart to come close and try to calm me down. It surprised me that she was willing to hold me as I wept into her shoulder in torrents after all the horrible things I'd said. She just kept stroking my head through my hood, all the while gently reassuring me. I couldn't help but keep crying into her as she pulled my head gently into her shoulder. It took a while for me to calm back down as I cried myself out, but after what felt like nearly fifteen minutes, I sat up again, eyes still red. "I'm sorry… I know I was wrong, but… I don't know what to do." I weakly stated to Max. She put her small hand on my shoulder as she spoke.

"I'm just glad you weren't arrested. This is fucked." She stated.

"Why do you think I've been avoiding David as much as possible? I'm sure he's heard of it by now… God damn it… I'm fucked." Was all I could say then. I buried my face in my hands as I thought further. "God… and Kate…"

"You have to talk to her." Max stated gently. I breathed a heavy sigh, knowing she was fully right.

"I know… I… I'm just not sure what to do or say. I can't imagine she'd want to be anywhere near me after she saw me lose it. God, she's probably afraid of me by now." I listened to myself say. Each of these was an excuse in disguise. I had an obligation as her boyfriend to try and make things right again, but I couldn't command myself to face reality directly.

"Maybe I can help you two talk it out?" Every solution she proposed, my mind was ready with a laundry list of excuses. I knew that Kate would be petrified at the very sight of me, but I couldn't even picture myself looking into her eyes. I wanted to agree to Max's proposal for help, but instead…

"I-I think I need to prepare myself first. Can you give me a little time to get ready?" I asked, knowing full well I was just trying to bullshit some more time into existence. I held my breath until she replied. It looked for a moment like she was disappointed, though for whatever reason, it gave me the strangest feeling of Déjà vu…

"I guess that makes sense, but please talk to her. You two need to fix this." She finally said. I looked at her and nodded. I wanted nothing more than to go back to holding Kate gently and lovingly in my arms again, to forget about this horrible nightmare I had created for us. Still, every time I thought about the situation, I couldn't relieve myself of the fear that my episode could mean the end for us. I was scared to death of losing her, even if I deserved it.

"I promise I will. I hate this limbo I've stuck us into. I miss us." I simply stated.

"Good. Well, anyway, I hate to leave like this, but Warren wants his flash drive back. I should probably go."

"That's all right. I understand. If you wouldn't mind, if you see Kate again, please tell her that I still love her more than words can say. I'm not sure if she wants to see me again just yet." That I could tell would be true.

"Sure, just make sure you talk to her. It'll mean a lot more coming from you, big guy." I sighed to myself as she said this. I knew she was right, and I knew it would be necessary, but I also knew she would be feeling scared.

"I will. Thank you, Max." I said.

"Anytime, Daniel." She replied as I opened my arms for a hug. She returned it, and I almost didn't want to let go. This warmth felt almost alien to me after a whole weekend imprisoned in my room, wasting away in my misery and sorrow. For the first time since the fiasco, I felt at ease, even if only for a moment. I could feel Max start to release her hold on the hug, so, however reluctantly, I did the same. Within seconds, I felt cold again. We exchanged our farewell, and as she walked off, I waited until she was out of range from seeing me, and I sat back down against the wall. My duty still rang in my head like a siren; amplified tenfold by the self-hatred and guilt I felt forming dark clouds over me yet again. I didn't have the strength to do anything but remain where I was for a while more. I kept sitting there, curled up as tightly as I could, confident no one would find or bother me. No matter how hard I tried, though, I could never silence the echoing thoughts of my necessary obligation. I even went so far as to put the most aggressive of music I had in my ears as loud as my headphones could play just to drown it all out, but not even Death Metal could abate the call I heard, praying for me to do what needed to be done. Finally, I shut off Cannibal Corpse and decided to make my way to the women's dorms. I threw my hood back, put my sunglasses in my pocket, and took a deep breath. I knew it would probably be unwise to cross right through the front lawn of the school. Everyone was surely out talking, including the folks from the Vortex Club. I instead took the scenic route around the buildings through the trees. By whatever insane stroke of luck, I wasn't spotted by David or any of the more reclusive students looking to hide like me. I neared the women's quarters, and just as I saw Kate, my heart stopped. My confidence immediately plummeted to abysmal levels, and I hid like a pathetic little coward. I cursed myself, knowing I couldn't keep doing this. I stilled myself and prepared to approach her again, but when I tried to get close, I saw the last person a man in my position would ever want to see: David. I nearly dove headfirst behind the nearest wall to hide. That man definitely knew what I had done and would be more than ready to claim my head. As I was hyperventilating, however, I heard him start barking at Kate. I poked my head out from behind the wall to witness what was going on as stealthily as possible, and what I saw filled me with the most unsettling mixture of both fear and rage.

"Kate Marsh, I understand you were at that Vortex club party on Friday?" David aggressively opened up. Watch your tongue, you decrepit bastard.

"I-I don't want to talk about that, sir." She said as politely as possible. Hearing those words filled me with fear and remorse. Surely she was thinking of what would end up becoming my psychotic break. The following dialogue, however, just terrified me.

"What's this I hear about a video of you circulating around the school? This kind of conduct is way out of line, young lady!" Hearing David bark at her like that made me want to tear him open and splatter his blood everywhere. How fucking dare he use that tone with her. However, this was news. I hadn't so much as looked at my phone all the time I'd been in my pit of despair. What could this video be?

"V-video?" She nervously asked. This couldn't be good.

"Yes, video. I haven't watched it, but if what I hear about it is true, then you're in big trouble, young lady." Every word that old, pathetic man spoke dripped with attempted intimidation. My protective instincts were screaming at me to intervene. To say something, anything to stop that man from tearing at the already frightened heart of the woman I loved. Instead, I just stood there. I just fucking stood there, petrified. If I intervened, David would surely have solid evidence to get me thrown out of Blackwell, but if I didn't, I was just as good as complacent in the breaking of her heart. I wanted to scream in that moment, but even when I opened my mouth to breathe, all that came out was the sound of me choking on my own words. "Whatever this is, I will investigate it further, and whatever happens, you better understand what's going on. Do you, young lady?" The predatory fiend finished.

"No, I don't! Leave me alone!" Kate tried to stand up for herself, but I didn't know how effective she would be. If her weekend had been anything like mine, she was in no fit state to try and fight it off. I couldn't stand another second of this. I had to do something. Before I could act, however, I heard a familiar voice speak up.

"What's going on over here?" Max bravely stepped in. Seeing her like this was eye-opening and sobering. That woman was stronger than me by miles.

"This is official campus business, Max." David attempted to wrest control of the situation. I was both nervous and excited by what she might do in response. To my delight, Max did not disappoint.

"Excuse me, but you shouldn't be bullying students." Max adamantly stated with determination glowing in her eyes so brightly I could see it from my position.

"This isn't your place to argue, Max." David fired back yet again. I was on the edge of my seat.

"I think it is. You need to leave Kate alone. This harassment is pointless." Max finished.

"You're part of the problem, miss Caulfield. I will remember this conversation." David defensively responded as he stormed off. Seeing such a big dog neutered like that was cathartic and inspiring. Seeing Kate finally smile again, even if it wasn't for me, however, was heaven.

"Thank you, Max! I think you finally scared him for once. I have to go, but thank you so much!" Kate happily thanked Max.

"Anytime, Kate." Max said as Kate started to walk my way. Despite the necessity, instinct kicked in and forced me back into my hiding place. Seeing her walk away, I still tried to speak, only for more choking noises to come struggling out of my mouth. She kept walking further and further away, until ultimately, I was once again reduced to laying on the ground, once again weeping to myself for more time than I should ever spend in that state. I hated the coward I had become. I knew damn well that I needed to apologize for my actions, to make amends, to do everything in my power to restore our relationship to a better state. Furthermore, what on earth was that video David was talking about? What had Kate been doing? Was it anything like what I had seen at the party before I punched that guy's lights out? If I'd been sent a link, should I watch it? Could I even consider it after seeing how it had affected Kate? These questions longed to eviscerate my mind. Before anything else, however, I needed to get my mind in order. I headed back to my room and readied to take a shower. Feeling the grime and grease of two days' depressed funk cleaned off my body after about half an hour felt blissful. Still, my worry lingered. I couldn't just sit around while Kate was in pain, not knowing how I felt, how I wanted to fix everything. As if to match my disheveled state of mind, upon looking out my window as I sat at my laptop, snow had started to come falling down…

What the hell was wrong with me?

Hopefully I've not painted myself into a corner of edginess, but there are more chapters on their way soon!


	2. The Arms of Sorrow

Hello again! I hope y'all have enjoyed my first chapter, because I have the second ready! I have three more planned as of now, with a potential epilogue in the back of my mind. Enjoy!

As morning broke into my room, I woke feeling barely better than the day before. I was glad to have talked with Max about the issue between me and Kate, but it didn't help that I couldn't follow through on it, even when Kate had been right in front of me. I kicked myself for my cowardice, knowing the situation would only worsen as I spent more time delaying. I only hoped I had known how bad it was bound to get sooner.

With morning, I reluctantly rolled out of bed, knowing that there wouldn't be much I could do to shut up the boisterous, irritating nonsense spouted by the jocks and Vortex Club bastards outside. Honestly, I was just glad that whomever I'd beaten didn't care enough to confront me about it. That didn't change the fact that I'd lost control, and possibly cost myself the best relationship I'd ever had. I could still feel the hot tears from sobbing into Max just yesterday still burning on my cheeks, even though every other faculty of mine simply left me numb. I wanted to be a ghost, a waif, just something unnoticeable to keep myself from being seen and stopped by anyone outside the confines of my room. If I could have stayed in there all day, I wouldn't hesitate to accept the opportunity. I could imagine how quickly some of these assholes would be ready to gang up and take revenge on me for hurting one of them. Still, I knew most of them would have practice or something along those lines soon enough, so I waited for the hallway to quiet down. It took ages for the noise to grow weak enough for me to feel safe enough to leave, but finally, it reached a sound level barely above a murmur. I packed my schoolbag, put on some fresh clothes, sprayed on some deodorant and air freshener to avoid smelling too toxic, and after peaking my head out into the hallway, I sighed and headed off to class, sunglasses and hat covering me as much as I could get them to. Today was cloudier than yesterday. I checked the weather on my phone, and when I saw that it was going to rain, I received a message from Max, immediately followed by one from a number I didn't recognize. The link the unknown shared could've easily been some kind of virus, so I immediately deleted it without a second thought. Max's message read: 'I just talked with Kate. She was scared when I first mentioned your name, but I told her we talked. I told her as much as I could without putting you on the spot.' A split second later, more information appeared. 'Also, this whole thing is a lot worse than we thought. Someone got a video of her kissing a lot of guys, and it's been spreading everywhere. Don't open any weird links. Come meet me near the bus stop. I have more.' It finished. Anger began to bubble back up in me from before, but it was quickly doused by guilt and sadness. I didn't know if she'd seen the video, but having told her about losing my mind was enough. I didn't want anyone to see the monster I had become that night. On the other hand, I wanted to know what the hell had happened that night. I still didn't understand what had gone through Kate's head and made her go off and do something completely divorced from her character. I changed course and walked over to the bus stop at the front of the school. It had never ceased to surprise me that a town as tiny as Arcadia Bay had functioning and… actually fairly decent public transportation. Hell, Atlanta could stand to learn a few things from Arcadia Bay's buses. I arrived and saw Max sitting on the bench.

"Hey, Max." I casually said as I approached, she looked up and waved at me.

"Hey, Daniel." She said with a worried look on her face. Every indication of what was about to happen left me feeling more and more scared about the unforeseen outcome of the situation.

"You said you talked to Kate?" I asked. I knew she probably had something more important to relay to me, but that could wait. I needed to know how to approach Kate, even if I was walking into a realm of inevitable sadness and sorrow.

"I did, yeah. She's really feeling terrible." Max began. I could feel my heart begin to crack with every following detail. "I went into her room to return her book, and it looked like a real mess; clothes all over the floor, even a towel over her mirror. I also hate to admit it, but I snooped a bit and found some messages from her family. Somehow the video had reached her church, and the things they said left her a wreck. Even her mom left her a harsh note." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, though it filled me with a disturbing mix of despair, guilt, and rage. I knew I had to do something now. If I kept running from her, I knew the consequences would be horrible. Furthermore, whoever was malicious enough to defame my girl like that had better be either deliberately suicidal or incredibly stupid. It took everything I had to control myself enough to avoid growling at the thought of avenging Kate's honor by any means necessary.

"Who did this?" I said without thinking of how hostile my tone was getting. Before I could fall any further off that edge, I looked at Max, and she immediately got me to shut up my anger.

"Now, before I tell you anything else, promise me you'll keep a cool head. This is some heavy shit, and I don't want anything to cause things to get out of hand. Okay?" Max chided me before finishing her statements. I simply nodded humbly and took a deep breath, knowing whatever was coming had to be terrible. "Now, I can't prove anything yet, but based on what Kate told me, I think Nathan Prescott may have drugged her." I froze. My eyes widened as far as they would open, my heart seemed to stop beating, and my breathing immediately halted. I knew that name too fucking well not to understand what it meant alone. I only knew Nathan as well as anyone else at Blackwell, and what I'd seen of him always left me on edge, wondering what was causing my unease at the sight. Hearing that he'd possibly drugged Kate left me ready to tear the metal bench from the concrete stop into which it had been bolted and use it to beat the bastard to death. I could practically feel my blood heating to a furious boil at the thought of him manipulating her. I didn't know if I should kill him first or go talk to Kate and fix this goddamn nightmare. Either way, I was no use as a listener in my state of mind. After a moment of cracking my knuckles and neck, rubbing my knee, anything to calm myself back to rationality, I took another deep breath and looked back to Max.

"That tears it. I need to talk to her. Hell, we need to take this shit to the police. I'm going to enjoy watching that little shit Prescott rot in jail." I said in a way I hadn't realized how much I'd growled during the utterance. Max looked at me with a face like someone who'd just watched another person plan a massacre. Her fear was enough to melt me back down to feeling awful. I hated how quickly I'd gone from sane to destructive. I felt dangerous. "I… I-I'm sorry…" I weakly apologized.

"Daniel, I hate to sound mean, but you need to get a better handle on your hostility. I can tell your restraint needs a lot of work." Max bluntly said. As harsh as she may have sounded, she was right. I had anger issues, and they needed addressing.

"I know…" I sighed. "I just want to get back to holding Kate in my arms. I know it's only been a few days, but every minute without her at least knowing I'm sorry feels like a year." The bus came into view and drew closer to the stop as I finished.

"Don't waste another minute waiting for her. She was still nervous when I talked with her, but she still loves you. You owe it to her to say you still share that with her." Max said as she got up to board the bus. I weakly nodded a sad 'yes' as we exchanged a hug. Even though I hated myself now, it felt good to at least have a friend who still cared. I waved goodbye as she boarded the bus and walked back to campus. Part of me wanted to go to class, knowing it would only make sense, but I couldn't help but think it would yield the very comments I feared. Hesitantly, I started in the direction of the academic building. At least fiction-writing class wouldn't be that difficult to hide in. I decided to enter through one of the side entrances, knowing fewer people would see me. As I made my way there, however, I saw Kate hiding behind a tree near the side door. My heart froze for a second as I looked at her. I don't know how it was possible, but even after everything that had happened, she still looked breathtaking. Her beautiful brown-blonde hair still had a healthy shine to it, her lips beautifully adorned with her favorite gloss, though still bent sadly down. I felt tears well up at the bottoms of my eyes, and my breaths shortened. God, I loved her so much, and to see her sad hurt enough on its own. To see her sad because of my actions, however, was Hell itself. I saw her look around, and whatever madness drove me to hide behind another tree as a result, I'll curse that cowardice until the day I die. I kept hiding for a few minutes, occasionally looking back to check if she had moved, and eventually, she walked inside the school building. She had her head held up a little bit higher than I would expect from someone as depressed as she probably was. Perhaps she'd really been feeling better since she talked to Max that morning? It made sense. Once she was inside, I turned to the tree where I'd hidden and started hitting my head against it.

"STUpid! STUpid! STUpid!" I cursed myself under my breath with every hearty pounding strike. I kept going until it hurt too much to even touch my forehead against the surface. I sank down to the ground, burying my face in my hands. I reached to my forehead to see how badly I'd hurt myself this time, and wouldn't you know, I'd drawn blood. It wasn't enough to be considered deadly, but more than enough to tell me I needed help more than anything else in the world. I couldn't believe I'd just been stupid and weak enough to just hide, even after I'd thoroughly established that I needed to do something; to just fucking talk to the girl I loved, if only to make sure she was still mine, and I was still hers. Nothing scared me more than the thought of losing her, even if I truly deserved it. My self-loathing was so strong, I could barely get myself to get off the ground. Every variety of miserable, depressed, self-hating thoughts sunk my mind into a pitch mire.

" _I'm nothing short of a monster. I hurt Kate. I should just go and die. Everyone would be safer and happier if I was dead. I just want to lie down here and turn to ash. I wish Kate had never had the displeasure of meeting me. I want to drown slowly in the rain, if only after I can make sure Kate can go and have a better life, free of the horror that is me…_ " I wanted to call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline, but I felt like I didn't deserve to have that opportunity. Against my better, more rational faculties, I left the school building and walked into the forest nearby. I needed a place to be alone; to feel my heart ache and to cry. I'll be damned if I let anyone see me this vulnerable. As I was walking, who the everloving fuck would spit upon my day other than the sight of the monster who drugged Kate. That preppy son of a bitch, Nathan FUCKING Prescott was walking around in the forest, frantically running his hands all over his head and shoulders, quietly talking to himself. The second I saw him, however, I didn't lend a single instant to rational thought or even to the extreme misery I had felt only seconds before. All of that had been overridden by pure, unadulterated, unhinged rage. I didn't waste a spare second thinking about an apology to Kate or anything like that. All that mattered now was that this worthless worm pay in blood for harming Kate. He must have heard my heavy, stomping steps as I drew closer. He turned to see me with a bloodthirsty snarl and eyes seeing red. I relished in the fear I could see filling his eyes as he backed into a tree. I could almost feel my snarl mixing with a sadistic smile as I drew closer. Every fibre of my body burned, boiled, and bellowed with the desire to murder him as painfully as possible, but almost as quickly as I had felt rage devour my misery, fear silenced my anger as Nathan reached into his jacket and pointed a handgun at me. I didn't know whether or not he would be likely to fire, but instinct kicked in before anything else. At first, I just froze, throwing my hands up in defense.

"G-get the FUCK away FROM ME! You're just LIKE ALL OF THEM!" His speech was disorganized and wild, almost as if I'd triggered a psychotic episode. Whatever was going on inside his head, I was smart enough to slowly back away, knowing that someone armed in a state like his would be immensely dangerous, especially if I made a poor move. "Control Me… They all want to CONTROL ME…" He kept speaking incoherently as I kept slowly backstepping. To my absolute misfortune, however, I struck the back of my heel against a root and fell over. I crashed onto the ground, ass-first. The sound of my fall drew the psychopath's attention, and he started to march over to me, gun still pointed at me. Before he could mount me, I made a snap decision that may have very well saved my life. I rolled over, got up, and rather than flee, I put all my chips on black and charged Nathan with every ounce of my primal survival instincts, and used all the awareness I had to throw a devastating punch to every man's weakest point. I know, it's a dirty tactic, but when your opponent is armed, use any tactic you can to keep yourself alive. Nathan froze for a moment as his brain registered the insane pain of the blow. He dropped the gun, collapsed to the ground, and I ran as quickly as I could back to campus. My directive had just changed dramatically.

I kept running and running back to campus. My reputation and social whatever be damned. I had an obligation to warn someone, anyone about Nathan Prescott having a firearm. Within minutes, I had found the academic building, and not a moment too soon, either. The clouds had been rolling in for most of the day, though getting caught in the rain was the least of my worries. I went back to that side entrance I'd been to cowardly to walk through earlier, only tripping on one of the steps, cursing myself as I got back up, hopping slightly to be gentle to my knee. I tried to walk calmly through the hallways so as to avoid attracting attention or worse, inciting panic. Luckily enough, Principal Wells had just stepped out of his office.

"Principal Wells, there's something we need to discuss immediately." I bluntly stated. As he turned to face me, I could smell the liquor on his breath.

"Indeed, there is something we need to discuss. I heard about your involvement in the incident at the Vortex Club Party, and that you haven't attended class once since then. This is a very serious matter, Daniel." He opened up. For a drunk, at least he spoke without slurring in the middle of the day. That statement, however, made me freeze for a moment. I knew I couldn't run from the consequences of what I'd done, but I would not let my outburst undermine the immediate danger in which I knew the school had descended.

"I understand what I've done, and I'm ready to deal with the consequences, but right now-" I was interrupted before I could say anything further.

"But nothing. You assaulted a student, and it's been caught on tape. Before you do anything else, there are several disciplinary issues that need to be addressed." Principal Wells interjected before I could warn him. Few things in life angered me more quickly than being interrupted. I'd been controlling myself better, often thanks to Kate putting her foot down when needed, but I still had trouble with it every now and again. This situation, however, left me without a clear rational alternative for my brain to accept. Without thinking, I frowned and aggressively wrested control of the conversation.

"Then address this, _sir_ ," I said, dangerously balancing on the edge of losing my temper. "I saw Nathan Prescott in the woods with a fucking firearm just minutes before now. I don't know about you, but I think a potential incident with a shooting is more pressing than me knocking some preppy shmuck's teeth in." I growled. The look on Principal Wells' face was stern and yet surprised. Once I knew how out of line my tone was, I tried to calm myself down, to try and step back, but before I could, Principal Wells was on me.

"That is a very serious accusation, Mister Harper, and on top of that, you are out of line addressing your principal in such a disrespectful manner. You're lucky you're not the first person to bring this forth, otherwise I'd suspend you right now for your threatening tone." Principal Wells shot me back down. I didn't know what he meant by me not being the first one, but if he handled this anything like he did with that rich fuck's other troubles, I wouldn't be able to keep calm for very long. "I will investigate this issue with Nathan Prescott as a higher priority now, but you better be in my office _tomorrow morning at the earliest_ to address your misbehavior. Understand?" I bit back my snarl and reluctantly agreed.

"Y-yes… _sir_ …" I did what I could to mask the bitter anger I had in my tone.

"Good. Now, I have some business to attend to. Don't forget about our meeting tomorrow morning. 9:00 AM, sharp. Understood?"

"Yes sir…" I felt like I was strangling myself just to keep from exploding with anger. With that, Principal Wells walked to the bathroom, and I went back outside to try and cool off. I knew that I was in no state whatsoever to talk with Kate. Too many volatile emotions clouded my head, and I needed to go somewhere I could just let it out peacefully. I went back outside, and it was raining hard. I can never thank the school enough for having awnings over the side entrances. I pulled my headphones out from my bag, and started cycling through music on my phone. In the middle of a Meshuggah album, I thought to send a message to Kate. I opened up what we'd exchanged, and I still thought I was pathetic for not even saying I was sorry over the phone. She hadn't sent anything since then, either. Perhaps it only made sense. What could be said? Rather than let the sounds of extreme Metal attempt to mask my grief, I instead put on "The Sound of Silence" by Disturbed. It punctuated my feelings of loss perfectly, making me wish for nothing but to drown in the inky blackness of nothing. Everything around me, the rain, the music, the guilt, and the hot, choking feeling you get when you're about to cry, all worked together in a symphony of pure sadness and self-hatred. Never had I so badly wanted to just lay down, die, and then just turn to water and be washed away forever. I felt like an insect, drowning in the rain…

Suddenly, I was jolted out of my wallowing by the sound of my phone telling me I had a message. I rapidly opened it, not even noticing who sent it, but the tone and content were dire.

 _GET TO GIRLS' DORM NOW!_

I had no idea what it meant, but my brain shifted immediately from sadness back to fear again. Without a second thought, I threw my headphones back into my bag, zipped it up, pocketed my phone, and made a mad dash for the women's dormitories. Rain kept stinging my face as I ran, and I even nearly crashed into a tree, a wall, and another person on my way there. When I arrived, I was taken aback by the sheer size of a crowd that had all gathered on the lawn just before the building. Everyone was looking up at the roof, and when I did, every cell in my being went rigid; petrified.

There, standing on top of the roof, was Kate, getting ready to jump.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Not a single input from the outside world registered in my brain that could help me understand what I was seeing. All at once, every cell in my brain started screaming at me:

" **YOU IDIOT! LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE! YOUR HIDING AND WALLOWING IN SELF-PITY HAVE ALL LED TO THIS! THIS IS WHY YOU FUCKING TALK TO HER!** "

There are so few ways I can accurately describe how this felt, but perhaps a direct analogy is the best: imagine, if you will, seeing someone you love, someone without whom life is hollow, empty, and sad. Imagine that person, that person who makes your very life complete, about to die a horrible, graphic death, and not only being powerless to do anything, but also feeling the full responsibility of having put them there in the first place. Perhaps I'm being redundant with my recollection, but let me emphasize this clearly: YOU CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO WRAP YOUR HEAD AROUND THAT KIND OF FEAR WHICH IS SO POTENT, IT COMPLETELY RENDERS YOUR EVERY FACULTY USELESS.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to run. I wanted so badly to do anything in my power to save her, but my body wouldn't let me. All I could do was stand there, rigid as ice, drained of all color, and filled with such an extreme amount of horror, that even my brain threatened to shut down on me. A war raged within my being to wrest control of my body, simply to stop myself from standing frozen in place at what was the most dire moment of my life. I raged internally at my faculties to do as I commanded. I warred with my body and mind to simply gain basic control over myself. I tore my robes and cried out to whatever god would listen to give me back control. I'd not prayed in years, even while Kate and I had dated, but slowly, I felt enough lucidity to just barely move my foot. I nearly lost my balance, but I caught myself, and then with every fibre of my body, I grabbed the reins and charged headlong into the building. I threw the door open and ran inside, desperately searching for a way to the roof. In my state of heightened fear and determination, my state of mind remained cloudy. Hallways became highways, doors became dragons, and the rain outside seemed to flood everything around me. Finally, after frantically searching every which way for a staircase, I finally found one. I kicked the door open aggressively, and ran as fast as my legs would carry me up the stairs, sometimes falling, but ultimately scrambling as quickly as I could to get to the top. These stairs, however, didn't have an entrance to the roof, but to the highest inhabited floor. I wanted to scream in anger, but kept looking furiously for a way to the roof. I would've blasted a hole through the ceiling and forced a ladder into it if I could have, but before I lost it, I found exactly what I'd been looking for, a maintenance stairwell with access to the roof! Without a second thought, I opened the door, looked for the roof access, and my eyes landed on a metal ladder. I practically scrambled up that ladder to get to the door, and when I did, I fell through and landed flat on my face. I looked up, and to my incredible relief, Kate hadn't jumped. Hell, Max was even there, possibly having been trying to talk her down. My eyes locked with Kate's, though, and all sound went quiet at the sound of her heavenly voice, now torn by sorrow and misery.

"…here?" She said, confused as much as she was sad. I knew I didn't have a spare second to lose.

"K-K-K-a-ate…" I struggled to speak through the overwhelming tides of emotion seeking to drown me. Max looked shocked at the sight of me, and Kate seemed almost as surprised as she was angry.

"How could you run and hide for four days, Daniel?! Do you have any idea how miserable I was?!" She immediately condemned me. Her words triggered a sensation in me like being stabbed, and reflexively, I clutched my heart, feeling it breaking. "Well?" She pressed. I bit my cheek as hard as I could to snap myself out of my daze, and as if by magic, I looked her in the eye and let everything go.

"I-I'm so sorry-y-y! I'm a monster!" I began through so many tears, I had to fight to keep my eyes on her. "I know I should've said something! I know I should've apologized! I have no excuse! I'm so sorry-y-y! Just please don't do this! I can't live without you-ou-ou! I love you! Please come down! I promise I'll get help! I promise I'll be a good boyfriend! Just please come dow-ow-own!" I sobbed profusely, unable to stop. I kept my eyes on Kate as much as possible, hoping as hard as I could that she would listen.

Time stopped as Kate took in my sobbing, desperate plea. All the world disappeared except for the two of us. This limbo of waiting for her answer was pure torture. Every breath I took felt thinner than mountain air, every second felt like a thousand years. The weight of the clothes and bag on my back felt like lead. Finally, Kate spoke.

"I-I'm coming down!" She finally said. Those words were more than enough to fill my heart with joy. I rose from the floor, and as she fell down back onto the roof, guided by Max's gentle hand, I crawled over to her. To look back into her eyes again, both of us full of tears… God, I missed her so much. Feeling her curl up into me like she loved me again made me feel warm in a way that made me remember fully how it felt to be warm at all. I loved her so much, and I was never letting her go again. We kept apologizing over and over again, all while Max, that amazing heroine, kept holding us. For the longest time, I kicked myself over and over again for having waited so long, but in that moment where we embraced each other again, it felt absolutely sublime to hold and caress her gently. After a few more minutes, we made it back down through the building. When we finally got out, the police were there, and an ambulance was waiting for her. I thought the ambulance was a bit much, but it only made sense for suicide watch to come in and bring her somewhere safe. As they helped her in, I didn't want to let go.

"I promise, I'll come see you every day! I'm never letting go again." I said to her. She gently smiled as she wiped her eyes.

"You'd better. I missed you, baby." She said with a sweet little giggle that I'd missed so much. Without another moment's hesitation, I put my hand gently on her cheek, looked into her perfect, beautiful, jade-hazel eyes, and slowly brought our lips together. That kiss was pure, unadulterated paradise. If heaven existed, it was her. I don't know if I'll ever stop kicking myself for putting her in such danger, but as long as I never had to say goodbye like that, I'll do everything I can to be the man she deserves. God, I never wanted this perfect, blissful moment to end. I had never felt more in love with this perfect woman. She was so beautiful, and that alone made me want to cry tears of joy. I could've kept my lips pressed lovingly against hers until the end of time, but one of the drivers told me it was time to get to the hospital. Breaking that kiss was so much harder than anything I'd ever done in the past, but at least I got to see Kate's eyes sparkle again; to see her heavenly smile.

"Bright and early. I'll see you soon, beautiful." I whispered to her as we touched our foreheads together. Having to walk away with her, we kept reaching for each other. When I was held back too far away, I just waved to her, tearfully saying goodbye for now. The guilt didn't go away after that, but rather remained as a reminder of what can happen when you're too busy self-flagellating to address a problem. Max then came up behind me and put a hand on my shoulder. I looked over to see her, and opened my arms wide for a hug. She returned it, and I'd never felt better. "Thank you so much for keeping her safe, Max. I owe you." As we released our hug, I could tell she'd been just as heavily affected.

"Don't beat yourself up. Just make sure you and Kate are all right."

"I'm going to see her tomorrow, if they'll let me in. I'll bring her roses and a teddy bear to start."

"Just make sure you get that help you said you'd get." Max said as she looked me in the eye in that surprisingly motherly way she did.

"I will. I know I need it…" I said, my voice trailing off a bit. I still felt guilty for what I'd done before, and I worried about the next morning. But for now, I was at least glad I could breathe easy about the woman I loved. I fell asleep that night more peacefully and blissfully that I had for as long as I could remember. I only worried so much about what tomorrow would bring, instead thanking everything for saving my Katie.


	3. Out of the Darkness

If you've been sticking around this long, I'm thoroughly glad to have y'all in my audience. I hope I've done well thus far, and I look forward to satisfying y'all's appetites with the last few pieces of this story! Granted, the content has inspired envy in my girlfriend, who in retalliation intends to refer to me exclusively as "fluffy-head," and "cutie-pie" for an indefinite period of time. All the same, y'all have fun!

What a beautiful day. I may have had some obligations to fulfill with the authorities of the school, but I at least had a beautiful girl to look forward to seeing later today. The rain had left its marks upon campus with puddles and dew gently laden about the grounds, and my nose still detected the ever-present and pleasant petrichor of the previous night. Thinking about it made me feel just as guilty as I did happy that it was over, but I could at least breathe easy knowing my Katie was all right, even if she was probably under the watch of guards and at least one psychologist. Before anything else, I made sure to know she was the first thought in my head today. I didn't know whether or not she'd see my message before I arrived, but it couldn't hurt to let her know once again that I loved her. I unplugged my phone from its dock and wrote her.

" _Hey, Katie, it's Daniel. I just got up, and I'll be there to see you today. I need to take care of a few things here, but I'll go see you as soon as I'm done. I love you._ " I felt so happy as I hit 'send.' My smile faded, however, when I remembered that Principal Wells had wanted to have me come in at nine. It was almost eight, and in the commotion, none of the teachers wanted to come to class, so I quickly dressed, packed my bag, and grabbed a protein bar on my way out of my room. With a sigh, I walked to the main building. The whole school seemed like it was still asleep, but to be fair, if you'd nearly watched someone fall to their death from bullying, you'd probably be pretty scared for a while. I had a good minute before Principal Wells wanted me in his office, so I sat at a picnic table under a tree and got out my fantasy journal. I'd neglected to write anything about my stories in the wake of that damn party, and it felt good to crack the old leather-bound open. I wrote for a while about the mechanics of magic, the great mythic creatures of the universe, and of the (as far as I was willing to congratulate myself,) epic conflict between good through force and good through liberty. I kept checking my watch to make sure I had enough time to get to the office on time, and after filling a few more pages with my mythos, it was ten till nine. I packed back up and walked into the building.

It was as desolate as the rest of campus. I walked up to the door to the principal's office and knocked. Within a few seconds, David Madsen let me in. He didn't say anything at first. He just frowned like he knew I'd done something wrong. I immediately wanted to get defensive, but as I scanned the room, I was surprised to find that a medium-sized crowd had gathered. Principal Wells and David were accompanied by Mark Jefferson, Max, and much to my displeasure, Nathan fucking Prescott. Half of me wanted to break the bastard's nose right then and there, but I remembered the gun he'd had. I didn't think he'd be insane enough to bring it where anyone could see it, but that rich worm definitely had the privilege to help bypass almost anything cast against him. Seeing as there was nowhere to sit, with either chair occupied by Max or Nathan, I stood behind Max. Without thinking, my gaze absentmindedly wandered in the direction of Mark Jefferson. He met my gaze, and I immediately turned away, trying to focus on anything but Nathan. I didn't want to set him off. If he went off, I'd end up going off. Still, Jefferson wouldn't stop looking at me. I didn't know what was going on in that man's head, but for whatever reason, I couldn't help but feel unsettled. Before I could dwell too much more on the subject, the feeling of my phone buzzing inside my pocket snapped me back into reality. I made a note to check it later, and redirected my attention to the meeting at hand.

"I apologize I haven't any more seats for you to borrow, Mr. Harper. I trust you will be all right with standing?" Principal Wells spoke up. His tone was resolute, and yet far from accusatory. I couldn't help but think I was no longer a significant target of his ire after what fresh hell had been displayed only last night. Still, I wasn't about to put all my chips on red just yet.

"Yeah, I don't mind." I succinctly replied. To be perfectly honest, I was a little uneasy being so close to David Madsen, as I knew his temper was a key attribute of his militaristic personality. Then again, if things went sour, I could at least immediately run. I stood behind Max and kept an eye on the rest of the people in the office.

"Now, I understand we're all at least a bit jarred by the events of last night. I want nothing more than to resolve the issues and understand the various contributing factors to what could have very easily been a catastrophe for everyone at Blackwell." Principal Wells began. Thinking about last night made me nervous enough as it was, but to hear it reaffirmed by an exterior source was a strong embellishment of my fear. I swallowed my thoughts of 'what could have happened' as he continued to speak. "First and foremost, I would like to thank both of you," he gestured to me and Max, "for stepping in and saving Miss Marsh. That does not supplant, however, the importance of investigating further into the varying factors that contributed to her being on the roof in the first place. I'm sure each of you have something to contribute to this discussion, but before anything, I want to understand what happened from the two of you." He looked again at me and Max. "What can you tell me about what has been going on with Kate?" He finished. I looked at Max, and she looked back to me, and I gestured to let her go first. I only had so much to go on, and much of it after the events of my episode came from her.

"Kate told me yesterday morning that Nathan Prescott drugged her. She said she couldn't remember anything from that night after the party started, and her video, from what I've heard, doesn't sound anything like what she'd do." Max began. I saw that Nathan was starting to heat up, so before he could interject, I cut in.

"I also saw Nathan yesterday in the woods when I went to clear my head, and when I went to confront him about that, he immediately pulled a gun on me!" I added. David's ears perked up, his brow furrowed, and his eyes burned. I knew the Prescotts were rich enough to keep the entire local police department under their thumb, but it was nice to see that David, despite his hostility, had some integrity.

"That's bullshit! You attacked me! I can't believe I have to hear this defamation!" Nathan spewed out with a forked tongue. Hearing him cover his ass so poorly was enough to make me want to rip him in half right there. When I saw the look on Principal Wells' face, however, I felt reassured.

"Nathan, this is the second time someone has come forth and mentioned you having a gun on school grounds. I'm sure you understand what kind of trouble you're in if you're hiding one anywhere near Blackwell Academy's campus." I couldn't help but smile to myself as Nathan sunk back in his chair, trying to look indignant. The smell of his fear was delightfully cathartic. "Mister Harper, please explain your accusation."

"I was about to go to class yesterday, but my brain was still making me swim in self-loathing to the point where I found it necessary to leave the main grounds of the school and go for a walk in the woods just behind us. I walked for a little bit until I stumbled across Nathan Prescott walking around, twitching and frantically rubbing his head like he was on the verge of a psychotic break. I knew he must know something about what happened to Kate if Max's words carried any weight, so I marched over to him to try and get some answers." Before I could continue, Nathan interrupted me.

"You came stomping up to me with murder in your eyes! I thought you were going to kill me!" Nathan bit back at me. I nervously cracked my neck as he said that. He may not have been wrong, but he was hardly one to talk.

"I may have appeared aggressive, yes, but I wanted to know more than anything if he'd had something to do with Kate's video. Before I could get within arms' reach, however, he pulled a handgun from his jacket and pointed it at me! He started yelling about me being 'just like them' or something, and I managed to fight him off and run back to campus. That's what I was on about yesterday, Principal Wells." I finished. Nathan looked like he was fighting to control himself in this instance. Part of me hoped that he lost it. Even if he had a gun, a skinny teenager with mental problems would be no match for a hardened veteran like David. Principal Wells looked worried for the first time since I'd met him, and David looked like he was ready to throw Nathan in prison. Max looked nervous and yet remained strong and brave. Mr. Jefferson, however, just stood there, cold as ice, his eyes boring into Nathan. I didn't know what the hell was going to happen next, and to be completely honest, I was afraid to find out. With that, Nathan's posture and body language changed. It seemed subtle at first, but as I analyzed his motions, I could determine he was afraid. I glanced between the two of them, back and forth between Mr. Jefferson and Nathan, and as I arrived at the conclusion that this teacher was likely manipulating the student, the man turned his attention to me. It was only for a split second, but in that time, his one look managed to give me disturbed chills. For a guy that looked no more threatening than the average hipster, something about him was deeply and intimately threatening about Mark Jefferson. The sound of Principal Wells clearing his throat in a definitely audible manner broke up this silent and subtle confrontation before it heated any further.

"Daniel, I will say that it is concerning that you would approach Nathan in such a threatening manner, but if this is true, Nathan, that you had a gun anywhere near school grounds, it is highly likely that drastic disciplinary action will have to be taken. Until further notice, however, I have some forms from the Police Department. Max, Daniel, I would like you to fill these out regarding your statements and your involvement, and once that's resolved, we can adjourn this meeting." Principal Wells' bureaucratic jargon usually made me want to gag, but I wanted this to be over as soon as possible. I had a beautiful woman waiting for me at the hospital, and it was ungentlemanly to keep a lady waiting. I looked over the form, reading it carefully and filling in all the necessary information where it asked for anything. I wrote where it asked for my testimony about everything involving Kate, the party, and by God, if I had a dime for everything I had to say about Nathan, I could have paid Max's student loans. I made sure to leave nothing out, even if it made me look at least partially unstable. By the time I finished, Max was getting up to leave.

"I'll see you later, Daniel." She said. Before she left, however, I got up.

"Hey, before you go, I really appreciate how you've helped me out with all of this. I really wouldn't be nearly as healthy now if it hadn't been for your help." I thanked her.

"Anytime, Daniel." She said. She looked like she had somewhere to go, so I finished my words quickly.

"Can I get a hug? For me and Kate?" I bashfully asked.

"Sure." Max smiled as she came in and gave this big idiot the hug he needed. It was paltry compared to what I'd shared with my beloved Katie last night before she went to the hospital, but it was still nice to feel my circumstances changing for the better. As she left, we shared one last wave goodbye, and I looked back to Principal Wells. I didn't want to have to worry about my infractions now, but it would be honorable to see this through. Nathan exchanged one last dirty scowl with me as he slithered out, Mr. Jefferson didn't look at me at all, but David, surprisingly enough, gave me a subtle grunt and nod. I'd never thought of David very positively, but I had to admit, this was a nice turn of events. I walked up to Principal Wells, but as I was about to sit down, he held up his hand and softened his expression.

"There's no need to discuss what happened that night, Daniel. What happened last night is jarring enough for everyone at Blackwell Academy. I expect things to go back to normal very soon, but for the time being, I even received word from the student allegedly assaulted, and he, for whatever reason, did not want to press any kind of charges. My only concern is that I would like for you to start regularly speaking with the school counselor and work to resolve these issues." Principal Wells flatly stated, albeit with a sound to his voice like the events of last night had aged him by at least a decade. I found it uncharacteristic of Principal Wells to be so lenient, but I wasn't about to question a 'Get Out of Jail Free Card.'

"Yes, sir. Kate and I actually agreed I should see a therapist. I'd be more than happy to start seeing the counselor as soon as possible." I responded. Principal Wells seemed impressed by this, almost making me think I'd taken a bit of that burden off his back.

"That's very mature of you, Daniel. I'll hold you to it. We can work out the finer details later. For now, I just advise you get some rest. We all need it after a night like that." I saw Principal Wells start to reach for a drawer on his side of his desk, then quickly halt himself. I knew he was an alcoholic, and although we'd had our fair share of confrontations, a part of me wanted to stay behind and try to convince him not to drink, but I knew it would be a pointless exercise. So many tried, so many failed. At this point, I just had to hope his habit wouldn't get any worse.

"Yes, sir. Thank you for your kindness." I said as I turned slowly to go to the door. When he didn't stop me, I walked on out. The moment I stepped beyond that threshold, I felt as if the weight of the world had been lifted from my shoulders. All there was left to do was go see the most beautiful woman in the world. Without missing another step, I actually started humming Pachelbel's Canon in D Major to myself as I sprung from step to step on the way to my bike. The parking lot was surprisingly full today, though I imagined perhaps the genuine fear of everyone at the thought of… I shouldn't think about that. I pushed that thought from my mind and pulled the rain tarp from my beautiful blue motorcycle. I sighed with nostalgia and awe as the water rolled off the tarp and onto the ground. Behold, the other woman in my life.

"Hey, Amélie. I missed you." I named my bike after one of my favorite female singers, and I understand, Amy Lee makes me sound like your typical middle school emo. I mounted her, fetched my helmet off her back seat, and started her up. I missed the rumble and purr of that engine almost as much as I missed… maybe I shouldn't say as much as Kate. She's my priority. I backed Amélie out of the space, and rode her to the nearest florist. The folks inside were a bit older, and they knew me well from all the times I'd tried to make a nice bouquet for Katie. I had an arrangement made of the nicest roses, red, white, and pink all seemed to convey together a message of my love and admiration for the immeasurably beautiful individual Kate is. Before I left, I made sure to find a stuffed animal, ultimately settling on a teddy bear big enough for her to cuddle when I wasn't around. I'd given her a teddy bear before, but nothing large enough to ride behind me on the bike. After I paid and returned to Amélie, I thought my decision to buy such a large stuffed animal was thoroughly ill-advised. Despite my better judgment, I knew I had some bungee cords in one of my saddlebags. I, insane as it may sound, bound the bear to me with one of the ropes, and once Roosevelt was nice and secure, I got back on my bike, keeping the bouquet in one of the saddlebags, and carefully rode in the direction of the hospital, all while the feeling of that oversized bear on my back kept one thought repeating through my mind: ' _I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot_.' Still, I'd never compromise on Katie again. I loved her way too much for that. I kept riding my bike into town, and as I neared the hospital, I for whatever reason still felt nervous. I took a deep breath, parked my bike, and undid the bungee. As I walked up to the front entrance, I felt my heart start to pump faster and faster. I tried to calm myself, but I still couldn't help but feel nervous at the recognition of what I was doing. Even if it hadn't been even twenty-four hours since I last saw her, I felt like I needed to sit down and take a breath. I walked over to a chair in the waiting room, and then I remembered my phone going off earlier. I removed it from my pocket, and my heart was put at ease when I saw the message.

" _Hey Daniel! It's okay. I'm really looking forward to seeing you. Don't keep a lady waiting too long! I love you too._ " I heard those words in my head in her beautiful voice. With those words, I felt more than encouraged to go and see her. I didn't want to waste another minute. I checked in with the front desk to see where Katie was, and once I had her room number, I happily strode over there. I went up to the door, and even though I was sure I would be welcomed in regardless, I still felt it necessary to knock. As I waited for an answer to my four raps upon the door, I held the bouquet in one hand, and rested Roosevelt on the floor. A few moments passed before a nurse answered the door.

"Hello, who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" she said to me. She was a kind older woman of about sixty or so. He presence made me feel even more at ease, knowing my lady was receiving care from someone as friendly as her.

"Hi! My sincerest apologies for any interruption. I'm Kate's boyfriend, Daniel, and I wanted to visit her today. May I come in?" I politely asked. The older woman warmed up significantly as she surveyed the bouquet and Roosevelt. I smiled gently as she nodded.

"Of course! I'll only be in for a little while longer. She's still a bit frazzled after last night, but she's doing well enough to see a friend. Miss Marsh, you have a visitor, and a handsome one if I do say so myself!" I visibly blushed when she said that. I'd always like to think I had good self-esteem, but I always felt embarrassed when someone called me handsome outside my family.

"Is he tall, redheaded and sweet?" I heard Kate reply. My face kept getting redder with every sweet thing said about me. I hid behind the bouquet in my bashful state.

"And muscular! Shall I let him in?" The nurse asked Kate. If I blushed any harder, I'd be redder than the roses I'd bought. For whatever reason, Kate took her time with her response. I didn't know what was on her mind, but I could only hope it was better than last night. She seemed happy in her message, but I could imagine she would be at least a bit shaken after last night.

"Yes, please." Katie finally said. The nurse let me into the room, and although Roosevelt was unwieldy, I still carried him in. I was already excited to see Kate, but to see her face light up with the sweetest mix of joy and bashfulness when she saw the bouquet and the oversized teddy bear. She buried her face in her hands as if she were about to start crying, so without a second thought, I rushed to her side to try and console her.

"Are you okay, sweetie?" I promptly asked. I felt a bit of extra panic in my voice compared to what would normally come from me, but when I saw her bright, bubbly, bashful smile as she laughed gently to herself, I felt at ease.

"You are too good to me." Kate said as she got up from her seat to wrap her arms around me. If I could live forever in her arms, I would not hesitate to take that chance. I felt her warmth comingle with mine and our hearts beat in sync. I hugged her back as best I could with her gifts in my hands. I loved nothing more in this world than being with her. She was my fantasy, my angel, my dream come true, and I could not sufficiently emphasize how much I loved her without failing to do justice. Everything about her was nothing short of poetic, symphonic, unadulterated perfection.

"Hardly. You deserve a break after all that. I'm just here with the presents to help you relax." I bashfully stated. I gently broke the hug momentarily to set everything down, and immediately put my hands on her hips and gazed into her hazel windows to heaven. That sparkle in her eyes made mine well up with tears, and she pulled me in close as I started to weep softly into her shoulder. Good God, I missed this so, so much.

"What's wrong, big guy?" Katie asked me as I pulled back to gaze into her eyes once again. My inevitable response made me feel all that fear and shame and guilt all over again, all at once. I tried to keep myself controlled as I told her.

"I shouldn't have been so cowardly. You n-needed me, and I failed you again and again… I'm sorry, Katie…" I said as my voice wavered and cracked. "I still can't believe I almost lost you…" I was ready to break down then and there, if it hadn't been for Kate gently cupping my fuzzy chin with her dainty, sweet, porcelain hands. She looked into my eyes with empathy and love the likes of which I knew her for better than anything else. I could see tears start to well up in her eyes as well as she spoke, each word a sonnet even Shakespeare would envy.

"Daniel, this is one of the reasons I want you to get help. You beat yourself up so much, even when I can tell you here that I forgive you. I'm so glad you came up to save me, and I want nothing more than to get back to us…" She paused for a moment to take a breath. As she readied her finishing statement, I instinctively felt myself say it with her:

"I love you." We said those words simultaneously. We caught ourselves, looked into each other's eyes, and laughed gently as we touched our foreheads together. This moment was nothing but bliss and joy, and everything about our reunion built an experience nothing short of paradise with every single second we spent in each other's presence. Where I was once so cold, I now felt warm, as if lying by a hearth, wrapped in a blanket with her. Where I was once ready to die of my own guilt, I now felt nothing but happiness and pure, unadulterated love with her. Where I was once empty and without rest, I felt I could now rest complete and full of pure joy in her embrace.

"I promise, I'm never letting go again." I whispered into my beloved's ear. If I could just stay in these moments of love forever, I wouldn't even consider a second opportunity.

"Thank you so much. I love you, Daniel." Katie whispered back. We continued standing there for a while before we finally decided to sit down and talk like old times. Kate was the first to speak. "If you don't mind me asking, what's his name?" Kate said as she gestured to the teddy bear.

"Oh, that's Roosevelt. I named him after my favorite President. Honestly, I think I was kind of an idiot in how I got him here. I tied him to my back as I rode my bike with a bungee cord." I said. As I finished that sentence, I saw Kate bring a hand to her mouth as she snorted with laughter. Once she heard the snort, she froze in embarrassment. Her face turned scarlet.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" I cut her off before she could finish.

"You know, you're really cute when you do things like that." I said softly as I put my hand on her shoulder. We spent the rest of the day talking about everything. I loved her drawings, and I told her how it would be an honor to help her with a new children's book she was thinking of writing. The only caveat she gave me was that I was not allowed to have any dragons, wars, Lovecraftian horrors, or most of the stuff I had in my stories. I playfully grumbled and gave a pouty face in concession. She giggled at my feigning displeasure. She showed me the progress she'd made on her drawings since the morning, and it filled my heart with joy to see her exercising her passion again. Writing is my therapy, and drawing hers. Together, we were a symphony of storytelling, and once she was out of the hospital, I wanted to work together with her on all varieties of stories. Everything about Katie was beautiful. She commented about how she looked like a mess with her hair let down, and wearing only her pajamas, but no matter how she dressed, I saw her as a living, breathing miracle. Every breath she took was sweeter than a gentle autumn breeze shaking the loosest of leaves from trees. Every time she looked at me, I felt enamored with everything about her. I never wanted this to end. Eventually, however, visiting hours drew to an end, and I was told to leave by the hospital staff. I wanted to protest, to say anything that would keep me by her side, but when Kate gently took my hand, I looked back into her eyes, and she soothed my small but growing anger with her gentle voice.

"Please come see me tomorrow? I'll be right here for you." She said with a soft smile on her face. She always knew just what to say to calm my addled nerves. I sighed as my negativity left me.

"I really wish I could just stay the night, but… If you'll still be here, I'll be in as early as I can tomorrow." I said as she and I shared a tight, loving hug. I held her close for as long as I could, only loosening enough so I could cup her cheek gently in my hand, and slowly move in for one last kiss for the day. The sheer desperation I experienced in last night's kiss was not present, but was instead superseded by a sense of belonging, peace, and peerless bliss. It was in that moment that I felt a kind of love for Kate I had never thought I would experience… A kind of love… One that can barely be put to words with any efficacy at all. It would take me perhaps a month, maybe more, to write a story or poem with the words best fit for this intense feeling of love. I guess the best way to say it is… I felt at home. I wanted that kiss to last forever, even if I'd said that about previous kisses as well. Nothing felt more blissful, more passionate, more comforting, than when I felt her lips against mine. I would have very well stayed right there, unmoving for as long as possible, until I had no choice but to pull away. As the kiss ended, I looked into her eyes one last time for the night, and reluctantly stepped away.

"I'll see you tomorrow, beautiful." I said optimistically.

"Good night, Daniel." Kate lovingly replied. Stepping away from that, however necessary, was still disheartening. I never wanted these moments to end. Reality demanded that they did, however, and I made my way back to my bike. I was still going to be kicking myself for how dangerous it was for me to ride a motorcycle with a giant stuffed bear on my back, but at least Kate could cuddle with Roosevelt when I wasn't there to do so myself. I mounted Amélie, started her engine, and made my way back to Blackwell.

On the way there, I saw, in the beam of my headlight, countless birds all over the road, on their backs, wings splayed. Even in that scene, I thought I would only see so many, but it seemed as if they littered the road! Everywhere I turned my head inside my helmet, more and more bird corpses lay all around. I could hardly believe the sheer absurdity of the sight! Nothing but death as far as I could see! I would have joined their ranks too, had I not snapped back into lucidity before I drifted into the wrong lane just as a car came speeding by. I kept riding down the road back to Blackwell, all the while seeing more and more dead birds. First it snows in October, and now dead birds everywhere? None of it made sense! All over the road, up and down the parking lot, and even all over campus, under the lights of the artificial illuminations, I could see only dead animals. I wasn't scared so much as I was bewildered. Still, it was too late in the evening to worry myself so much about this. I had much more important things with which to concern my mind. I did what I could to put this out of my mind, and instead focused on what tomorrow would bring. I knew Max still owed Katie a visit, and knowing how selfless Katie is, she'll probably be sharing that bouquet with other patients. I really needed to make sure I never had to worry about losing her again. Therapy to help me, and then for both of us, maybe a vacation somewhere to get our minds off of everything, and… I knew it was cliché, and even objectively demonstrated as a scam, but surely I could get her something when asking such a monumental question… I'd leave that to tomorrow.


	4. Forever In Your Hands

Hello again, everyone! I understand there's not much regularity to the rate at which I post these stories, but I can safely say that I'm working on my content as diligently as possible. I hope all is well with all y'all, because although school can be a bit demanding, I am doing well myself. Anyway, enough of my rambling. Time for more self-insert trayush!

If yesterday had been beautiful, today was both an augmentation and a realization. I checked my emails before anything to make sure I wouldn't be missing anything, and wouldn't you know, all the teachers, bless their hearts, still seemed too distraught to go back to teaching. I didn't know how to wrap my head around this. The last time I remember a student's death shaking a school was back home when a friend of my sister had been accidentally killed by a drunk driver. It hadn't affected me, but I guess I underestimated how the scope and scale of Kate's relationships with everyone affected them in the wake of this event. Getting everything in order was surely a daunting task in and of itself. Even still, I had no intention on missing another moment with my beloved. I would even skip class if it were necessary. Good God, I'm never wasting another moment without her again. Without a second thought, I packed my bag, donned my clothes, and got ready to leave. It was early, but I had slept so well, it didn't matter. Still, I never quite managed to free my mind entirely from the lingering fear of what could have happened. Every now and again, I would catch that fear lingering in my mind, slithering about like a viper, never really departing from me. Whatever was bound to happen, I wanted to make sure I was near Kate for as long as I could be. To hell with everything else. As I finished getting ready, I received a message from Max.

"Hey Dan, I hope you don't mind me coming to see Kate. I want to make sure she's okay. If I see you there, I won't bother you two for too long. Thx, Max." I couldn't help but smile. I don't know what had kept her so busy yesterday, but far be it from me to chastise her after what I'd been guilty of. I put my phone in my jacket and got ready to ride Amélie over to the hospital. Before anything else, however, I felt compelled, for whatever indiscernible reason, to buy more flowers for her. Knowing her, she'll have been sharing those flowers I'd given her yesterday. I'd put money on it. Still, even while buying the flowers, I kept thinking there was something better I ought to get her. I knew what it was, and considering… No, now wasn't the time. As much as I wanted to, it was something I should wait for. Still, there were few other things which I felt fit. Before I left, however, I was surprised by the next person to walk in the door to the flower shop: Victoria Chase. I knew how badly she had bullied Kate in the past, and I couldn't help but feel an involuntary, angry, soft growl rumble in my throat. I hoped she hadn't heard that.

"What are you doing here? Buying something for your fuckboy Jefferson?" I bit at her. I was surely going to regret that later. She looked genuinely and intimately offended as I finished that sentence. Her face contorted in such a way that I could tell she was going to give a verbal lashing, but almost as quickly as that snarl appeared, she went back to a frown and swallowed her just anger.

"I was actually coming to get something for Kate. I was thinking of hand-delivering, but if you'll be there, I may just reconsider, asshole." She bit back at me. I felt my rage starting to bubble up in me. I would've snapped every stem in that bouquet, had it not been for the wave of bewilderment that swallowed my mind at the mention of Kate's name.

"What the hell are you getting for her? A wreath shaped like a noose? You don't think I know you contributed to putting her up on that roof?" The moment those words left my mouth, I wanted to take them back. Victoria looked as though I'd just broken her nose at the sound of my vile retort. Despite that, I maintained my stance, not wanting to waver. Victoria took a tremendously deep breath as she formed her response. I knew I'd done something excessive.

"I was going to get her some tulips, orchids, and hyacinths. I feel horrible about what I've done to her. I haven't had a full night's sleep since she almost died." She sounded like she was about to cry. I wouldn't have ever been able to tell she'd been sleep deprived. For what she lacked in compassion, she at least was able to compensate in creative ways to apply a mask. Despite this, my anger only softened ever so slightly.

"How do you think I feel? You almost killed the woman I love. It's a miracle I can even see her today…" I trailed off for a moment. I didn't like crying in front of anyone, not even Kate, if I could help it. I'd sooner jump in front of a bus than show vulnerability before Victoria. I turned to her, and I saw her trying agonizingly to hold back tears herself.

"I made some stupid decisions, okay?! I don't need to be reminded of how horrible I am. I can barely leave my room because I know I'll pass hers on my way out. I can barely force myself to eat! Hell," she grew quiet. "Part of me wishes it had been me on that rooftop. I… I hate what I've done more than you realize. Even when I can sleep, I'm crying all the way there." Tears were streaming down her face as she spoke through the constriction of her closing throat. I didn't know what to do. For a moment, I wanted to apologize, but then, I was overtaken by a wave of guilt. All the memories I had of being cruel to people came flooding back to me simultaneously. It was in that moment, I felt an overwhelming urge to run and hide, curl up in a ball, and cry until the collective screaming of all those horrible memories fell silent. I hadn't even noticed I'd fallen to the floor. A few moments later, I woke up with Victoria Chase and the shopkeep over me. I felt dizzy, and my speech was slurred as I spoke for my first sentence.

"W-whahappen…?" I struggled to say. My head was swimming with all my negative emotions in a pool of despair.

"You just fainted! Are you okay?" I looked at Victoria with confusion as she said that. Part of me wanted to mock her, stating that she couldn't possibly care, but that look, despite everything, was enough to make me bite my tongue and simply nod. "G-good. Get up." She said, trying to mask her emotions. I lifted myself off the ground, checked my roses, and after stumbling a bit, I felt sorry for having opened my mouth.

"I-I… I'm… I'm so sorry… I didn't realize…" I tried to keep it together. I wanted to say something, anything, just to admit my fault.

"I really mean it. I hate what I did to her. It's why I can't make myself go see her." Victoria said. Where once had been rage and defensiveness, there was now empathy. I was convinced no one had felt as awful as I had about what could have happened. Still, I had at least been able to sleep at all. I had had dreams pleasant and beautiful, knowing only that I desperately wanted to spend every remaining moment I could with Katie, but I had barely given a spare thought to anyone else, even our friends. With a soft sigh, I gently put my hand on her shoulder and spoke.

"I understand how that feels. I felt so horrible about my outburst at the party that I would've been content to just lay down and turn to dust. I nearly didn't say anything to Katie, and look where it got her…" I stopped for a second. Saying that out loud really cemented how dire everything had been. I didn't want to imagine what would've happened if I'd failed. "If she's happy to see me, I'm sure she'll be ready to forgive you. She's a real sweetheart like that." I smiled and blushed at the thought of her kindness. She was a blessing in every sense of the term. Even the mental image her name summoned made me feel warm. I loved her so much. Victoria, meanwhile, was starting to sprout the first genuine smile I'd seen on her lips since I'd known her.

"I know… She's too damn sweet." Even in saying that, however, she sadly frowned a bit.

"She'll be happy to hear a genuine apology from you, Victoria." I said softly. I tried to share as much warmth as I could through my words and gentleness. "Still, I told I'd be at the hospital soon. I wouldn't want to keep a lady waiting." I smiled. Victoria laughed softly at my attempt at humor. Perhaps now, she would be inclined to stop on by. I could only hope.

"I… I should…" Something about her being shy didn't make any sense. As much as I knew we had a bad history together, I couldn't help but feel sorry for Victoria.

"Feel free to come by whenever you like. We'll be happy to have you." I gently offered. "I should go now, though. She's still waiting." I smiled gently as I got ready to leave.

"Thank you…" Victoria said as she dried her eyes. I almost wanted to cry at the thought of that. What bizarre universe had I entered that was so divorced from reality that Victoria Chase, the queen bee herself, could be compelled to feel remorse over her actions? Perhaps I simply needed to get my head out of my ass and drop my vendetta against her type. As I turned to leave the store, I looked back once more, and… Damn it, I couldn't just leave. I turned back to Victoria and opened my arms to offer a hug. She looked me up and down for a moment, possibly trying to gauge my intentions, but when she saw my offer was genuine, she stepped into my embrace, and I shared a hug I never knew I'd ever have. Despite our history, I felt happy exchanging such a warm embrace with her. Maybe we could be friends after all… Hopefully…

Once I disconnected from Victoria's hug, I offered once again to give her a ride to the hospital, but she declined. I guess I couldn't blame her. Even after multiple times on my bike, it still scared Kate. I mounted my steel beauty and rode to the hospital. Clean-up crews were working hard all up and down the road to clear away all the dead birds from yesterday. It may not have concerned me as much as it probably should have, but it was still an unsettling scene to behold. Full street sweepers struggled to clear the road. Despite this, I kept riding. I'll be damned if I let a few pigeon carcasses keep me from Katie. I arrived at the hospital yet again, and I was pleased to see that I was early yet again. Hell, it almost looked like the birds had never fallen on the hospital parking lot. I made my way in yet again, checked in, and as I approached her door, I heard two sets of footsteps approaching me from behind. Not suspecting much, I calmly turned around, and who would I see but one of the most heroic people I'd met in all of Arcadia Bay: Maxine Caulfield. I beamed at the sight of her, though I didn't recognize her friend immediately. Without a second thought, however, I immediately opened my arms to hug her.

"Max! It's so good to see you!" I said as she and I drew closer to each other. We exchanged a warm, friendly hug. I wanted to give her one of my trademark bear hugs, but decided against hugging any tighter than an embrace between close friends.

"It's good to see you, too, big guy." Max said as we hugged. After another moment, she and I broke away and smiled. I looked for a moment over to her friend, and she waved hello. Not wanting to be rude, I held out my hand to shake hers.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced. I'm Daniel, Katie's boyfriend." The blue-haired girl smiled shyly and took my handshake.

"Chloe. I'm Max's… friend. C-can I get a hug, actually? I hope that's not weird." Chloe asked. I raised a single eyebrow only so high, and smiled a bit. I was confused, but getting a hug was always nice.

"Sure, absolutely!" I amicably replied. I opened my arms and let her into my embrace, and she seemed to take her sweet time hugging me back. Beyond that, she reached underneath my motorcycle jacket and splayed her hands across my back. I also heard a distinct sound from her like she was enjoying a tasty dish. I started to release my hug, but she didn't seem to want to let go. Feeling a little awkward, I felt compelled to attempt to push away, but before I could, Max grabbed Chloe's shoulder and gently pulled her away. Chloe looked a bit disappointed at this, and I couldn't help but blush. I liked being complemented on my body, but getting frisked by someone I'd only just met was a bit… overwhelming.

"Anyway," Max cut in as all of us felt the full brunt of awkwardness brought about by that instance. If my social skills had been poorer, I would've sank to my knees and thanked her in veritable prayers. Since my inclinations are far beyond such nonsense, however, I simply gave her a subtle nod. "You mind if we come in to say hi?" Max finished. I couldn't refuse such an offer.

"What am I, her keeper? Of course! I've no doubt she'll be elated to see you." I said with a smile. I still knew little about Chloe beyond her… appreciation of my fitness habits. If she was close enough to Max that she would be comfortable coming with her to say hello, however, then I supposed I could trust her. We walked up to her door when Chloe decided to hang back.

"Y-you guys go on ahead. I'll just wait here." She said as she sat down. I wouldn't have anyone feeling sad if I could help it.

"There's no need to be a stranger. I know Katie will be happy to at least make a new friend. Come on in!" I offered. Chloe still appeared hesitant as I made the offer, actually sinking back into herself. I thought she might have some variety of social anxiety. Before I could speak again, Max went up to her, held her hands and gently looked her in the eye. I could only make out what they were saying to each other so well, but I got enough to understand their plight.

"Chloe, I know you feel guilty about that call. I know you may not know Kate all that well. There's nothing to worry about." Max calmingly said to who I could only assume was her friend right now.

"Max, I'm going to make an ass of myself. She wouldn't want to see some freak, like me." Chloe kept doubting herself. I wanted to interject, but far be it from me to interrupt Max when she's about to make a point.

"Chloe, Katie is the nicest, sweetest, friendliest girl you will ever meet. There's nothing about you that would repulse her." Max reassured Chloe. I found this the perfect opportunity to supplement such a point.

"She's right." I began. "I've been dating Katie for over a year now, and I've never been the kind of guy she ever would have expected to date. Hell, we don't even believe the same way. She's the most devout Christian I've ever met, and that doesn't stop her from loving me. Her parents don't even know what I am. Beyond that, I used to mess with her by playing my scariest music I liked on the stereo. It never stopped her from loving me. Hell, I've even had some terrible anger problems in the past, and even now I still have issues. She's cared more than enough to not only stay with me, but lift me up when I have problems like that. I couldn't have asked for a better girlfriend. She'd be more than happy to be your friend." I said. Taking that trip down memory lane filled me with a sweet sensation of both nostalgia and romance. I blushed deeply while thinking of her. It only cemented how important she was to me, and therefore, I needed to do something for both of us. Chloe looked like she was on the verge of tears. I wanted to apologize, but Max acted before I could do anything. She put her hands on Chloe's cheeks, looked her in the eye, and spoke.

"It's okay, Chloe. You don't have to if you don't want to." Max said with the kind of tone I'd only shared with Katie. I tried not to be too imposing a presence as I stood by Katie's door, only stealing a couple of side glances to see how Chloe would respond. The two of them kept looking into each other's eyes, and I could only stand at a distance and observe. While I glanced over, I saw Chloe gently put her left hand on top of Max's as she continued to hold her cheek. Her expression changed to a soft smile.

"I'll be okay if I'm with you." Chloe finally said. The look they exchanged was nothing short of loving. What happened next, however, made me blush. The two of them shared a kiss. Seeing genuine affection bloom was more than enough to make me smile broadly. I hated looking like a softie in front of strangers, but to hell with that. This was too damn cute. Once they finished their kiss, they noticed I had the giddy look on my face normally seen on Japanese Schoolgirls in anime. Max blushed to herself, and Chloe looked at me with a bit of indignation. I held up my hands in an apologetic gesture as I failed to resist the urge to start a long line of inquiries.

"I hate to be intrusive, but how long have y'all been dating?" I opened. Both of them blushed.

"We only just started." Max shyly stated.

"We should've started sooner." Chloe said with a bashful, sweet smile on her face. As sweet as this was, however, I couldn't forget the original reason for my being here.

"That's beyond adorable. Anyway, I hate to cut y'all off, but I believe we've all kept my baby waiting long enough." I said.

"Our bad. After you." Max smiled. Without another moment's hesitation, I took hold of the door's handle, and stepped inside. To my pleasant surprise, Kate was sitting next to her bed, clipboard on her lap, pen in hand. I felt so happy to know everything was getting back to normal for us. She looked up at the sound of our entrance. Scanning our spontaneous group, Katie looked so happy. I opened my arms as she stood up to approach and embrace me. Having her in my arms felt so warm in a way my bike jacket could never deliver. No place was ever more welcome than in her divine embrace. Our hug was tight and yet gentle. If I said I'd loved her before, I would never be able to state how much I fully did. A thousand times stating that would not even equate to the most insignificant fraction of how far and broad my love for her extended. She was nothing less than perfection. As she and I loosened our embrace ever so slightly, I looked in her eyes, put my free hand on her soft, gentle cheek, watched her beautiful, hazel eyes sparkle like a night sky undisturbed by light pollution, and slowly moved in again for a kiss. Her lips were as soft as ever. I knew I had to keep it brief with our company, so I reluctantly hesitated from lingering. I pulled slowly away as I finally spoke.

"I'll never get tired of this, baby." I said softly to her.

"Me either, big guy." Katie replied. Breaking these embraces never got any easier; each time felt like having a warm blanket pulled from me, leaving me to face the cold. At least it was minimized by the presence of close friends and a new one as well.

"I hope you don't mind that I basically brought a party wagon with me. I would've arrived earlier, but-" Katie put a finger on my lips to gently hush me.

"I love that so many of you care." Katie said with a gentle joy in her voice. She almost looked like she was about to cry. I would've tried to stop her tears, but she immediately went to give Max a hug.

"Kate!" Max said as the two of them embraced each other. It felt good to see her getting back to her old, happy self-more and more each day. "I'm so glad to see you. You look awesome." Max was always one of the best friend for whom Kate could ever ask. I could never thank her enough for spearheading the effort to save Katie's life. I only wished I could find a way to repay her for her limitless kindness and valor.

"I'm sorry for causing such a fuss." Katie said in a tone as humble as ever. At the sound of this deprecation, Max and I immediately intervened simultaneously to tell my baby to quit shooting herself down. Before either of us could say anything, however, Chloe, of all people, stepped in to lift Katie back up.

"Hey, I may not know everything about what's been going on, but no one as sweet as you seem should ever feel sorry for asking for help. You hear me? Nothing that's happened recently has been your fault. You're our friend, Kate, right?" To see such passion in someone who barely even knew Katie was a thoroughly welcome and inspiring sight. Kate was a bit frightened at first to be confronted like that by someone she didn't even know, but after Max put her hand on Kate's shoulder, she calmed down and smiled a bit. "You don't need to worry about bugging us. We're here to help you." Chloe finished. Kate started to blush again. I was afraid we were overwhelming her with our copious assistance, but ultimately, we felt good about how things were going.

"Thank you…" Katie softly said as Chloe finished.

"Oh! Damn it! I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Chloe Price. I'm Max's… er…" Chloe trailed off for a moment, apparently unsure of how or whether she should mention the full extent of her relationship with Max. I wanted to reassure them. Katie may be religious enough to promote abstinence everywhere on campus, but she lived a breed of religion steeped in love. It wasn't easy at first, but as she interacted with people like me, her barriers had come down. Max took her girlfriend's hand, laid her head on Chloe's shoulder, and finished her sentence.

"She's my girlfriend." Max sweetly said. Kate looked a bit surprised for a moment, but I could hardly blame her. Max never seemed like the type to go searching for love llike that, even with Warren being so intent on presenting himself as a viable option.

"Aww, that's so sweet! I wish I'd known sooner!" Katie said.

"Shall we sit down?" I offered. I knew that we should have some kind of atmosphere of invitation. Everyone followed as we seated ourselves. Max and Chloe took the chairs next to Kate's window, and Kate and I sat directly next to each other on the end of her hospital bed.

"I have to be honest, I always thought you and Warren would be a thing together. He always liked you so much." Kate opened the conversation again.

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I always thought Warren was really sweet, but… there was something about him I never quite… felt. Then, when Chloe and I met up again after all this time… Well…" Max was starting to blush. As strong and brave as she had been in the past few days, her adorable shyness was a key feature of her personality. Before Max could hesitate to finish any longer, Chloe stepped in to complete her thought.

"We shared a kiss, and the rest just kind of snowballed from there." Chloe finished. I could tell she was restraining her tongue from the looks she exchanged with Max. Max just blushed and nodded with a bashful smile on her face as Chloe completed the thought.

"I have to admit, and I apologize if this sounds at all prejudiced, but I thought you were straight?" I asked Max as humbly and gently as I could.

"Actually, I'm bi. We both are." Max corrected me.

"She's even got the haircut to prove it!" Chloe joked. Kate tilted her head in confusion, Max glared at Chloe, and I tried to strangle any laughter that tried to escape my lungs at that statement. "Granted, I'm hella more into girls than dudes, but still, damn Kate! You know how to pick a hunk!" Chloe said. I was a bit surprised by the fact that she was being so forward when she had been so awkward before, but I guess good company can do that for people. Kate blushed deeply at that comment, and so did I. I could barely force myself to look up.

"Anyway…" Max cut through the painfully awkward silence following Chloe's… generous comment. "Has this big lug been treating you well?" Max asked Kate. I was not going to get a break from blushing that day.

"Yeah. I'm a lucky girl to have a gentleman like him." Katie said happily as she put her hands together in her lap. I put my hand on her shoulder and attempted to give her a kiss on the cheek. Before I reached her, however, she turned to face me, and we ended up kissing on the lips. I was a bit surprised by this, but when I looked in her eyes, I saw that she'd been waiting for that. For such a devout Christian girl, she could be more devious than me sometimes. I smiled at her. "He's been coming here every day, always bringing me flowers." I looked at the vase where they'd been before, and was surprised that they weren't there. "I hope you're not mad, but I shared a lot of them with the other patients. I know they need love a lot more than I do." Kate finished. Hearing her say that was sweet, but I couldn't help but feel my heart break at the sound.

"Katie, I'm not mad at all about that. I actually expected you to do something like that. Still, you are worth so much more than you say. I love you so much. You deserve all the love I have to give you; that we all have to give you. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise." I said to her as sweetly as possible.

"I'm sorry…" Kate began as she started to curl up a bit.

"Katie, you have nothing to feel sorry about. Come here." I said as I pulled her close and hugged her. I could feel her warm up as we shared an embrace, and both of our faces turned deep shades of scarlet as both Max and Chloe audibly went 'AWWWWW'.

"Max, why aren't you that romantic?" Chloe teased her girlfriend. I couldn't help but laugh a little bit at that statement.

"What do you want me to do? We've only been dating for a couple of days!" Max teased back.

"I don't know, maybe you could get a picture of Nathan Prescott in a pair of panties? That'd get me to buying a ring right away!" Chloe said. Katie flinched a little at the mention of that bastard's name. Hearing Chloe's idea didn't help me much, either. I still wanted him to pay for what he'd done.

"That… reminds me, what have you learned about our case?" I asked the two of them. As unpleasant as it was to hear about that little bastard, it was still a utility to know. Saying that made the room go quiet for a moment, and the full weight of the situation bore down on us.

"We're learning more and more as we keep digging." Max spoke first.

"Yeah. We're finding everything we can about not just what happened to Kate, but to…" Chloe paused for a second, trying to find the gumption to string together the next words in her sentence. "To Rachel. I'm sorry, it's not easy for me to talk about her. I miss her." It was strange watching Chloe be such a paradox. One moment, she was ready to feel me up, and the next, she was quiet. I couldn't help but think highly of her, though. She very clearly cared about everyone here.

"You know, whatever happens, once this is all over, I think we need a break." I spoke up again.

"Maybe a double date? There's a really cute tea shop we could visit!" Katie piped up. I never ceased to enjoy when she got enthusiastic about something.

"That sounds hella awesome." Chloe chimed in.

"Do they have Yerba Mate? That's the only kind of tea I know." I asked.

"If it's the one I think Katie's talking about, then don't worry, they have coffee, too." Max humorously chided me. I breathed a sigh of relief at that.

"I'd love a double date." I finally said. As I finished that statement, we all looked to see a nurse enter the room with a decorative card covered in writing.

"Excuse me? You are Kate Marsh, yes?" The middle-aged woman asked Katie.

"Yes. Is that for me?" Kate replied.

"Yes. Both of these are, actually. You really have quite a lot of people rooting for you, Miss Marsh." Kate's face started to light up as she took both the cards. One was handmade, and we turned our attention to it first. Katie opened it, and she read it aloud.

"Dear Kate, I know I'm probably the last person you'd even want to hear from, given all the horrible things I've done to you, but I want to make things right. I don't know if I'll ever be brave enough to face you directly, so I hope a written card will at least be a good place to start mending things between us." Kate and I could hardly believe what was written. "I was mean, cruel, and exploitative to a girl hundreds of times prettier than I ever could be, especially within. You are an amazing artist, you care so much about other people, and I love the way you play the violin." I could hear Kate getting ready to cry as she read that. Hell, I felt my heartstrings being pulled violently with every word. "I hope you and Daniel are making up well," She paused a moment as I rubbed her shoulder a little. After she wiped her eyes, she kept going. "And moreover, I hope you can forgive me for all I've had the gall to even consider doing to you. I promise, this is where I want to start anew with you. I hope you start feeling well again soon. Love, Victoria Chase." Max and Chloe looked surprised beyond belief. I was feeling nostalgic, and Katie… Oh, Katie. I pulled her in close as she cried tears of joy.

"If y'all are wondering why I'm not as surprised as the rest of y'all, I actually ran into her this morning. It felt good to talk to her peacefully." I gently broke the silence.

"What was she doing?" Max asked first.

"I admit, I got a bit angry when I saw her, but it turned out she was going to buy you flowers, Katie. We had a real heart-to-heart about the whole thing, and I'm really glad we had that opportunity. She said she was thinking of coming to see you, but I can't help but think she might be a bit apprehensive." I said.

"I had a feeling Victoria was a better person than she let on." Max replied.

"This is so wonderful. I've never been happier!" Kate said with tears of joy still blurring her eyes. I wrapped my arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

"That's awesome. Listen, I hate to be 'that girl,' but…" Chloe began. Max looked back at her and nodded with a bit of remorse.

"Don't worry about it. You two come by any time. I'll be here until they kick me out." I reassured them.

"Thank you. We'll make sure you're both the first to hear about everything once we crack this." Max said. We all stood up and exchanged hugs. As they left the room, I remembered something. I needed to say it out loud.

"Oh, before y'all go, you mind if I ask y'all something real quick?" I asked as the two of them were about to leave.

"Sure, what is it?" Max said as she stopped.

"Y'all mind if we go in the hallway?" I asked. I hoped Kate wouldn't mind.

"Uh… sure…" Max looked confused.

"Thanks. I'll be right back, sweetie." I said as I kissed a peck on Kate's lips. Kate was surprisingly understanding, not even stopping me as I left the room for a moment. As I closed the door behind us, I breathed a nervous sigh. The stress of this week was weighing on me. Still, spending all this time with Katie… I knew it was right. "I understand this is probably weird for me to want to keep Katie out of something. That's because I want to keep this a surprise."

"Okay. What is it?" Max asked. I smiled out another sigh as I prepared to speak.

"The few days I spent not knowing whether or not I'd still be able to have Kate in my life were some of the loneliest, saddest days I'd ever experienced. Hell, when I saw her on that roof… I can't even begin to tell you about the sheer magnitude of impossible horror I experienced. Beyond that, even though we've only just gotten things back to normal, I've realized…" I felt my throat growing tight and my eyes heating up as I readied myself to say what was on my mind. "I've realized I genuinely can't live without her." Max and Chloe looked like they were going to die of cuteness as I said that.

"So, does that mean…" Max started to say as she trailed off.

"Yes. I'm… I'm going to ask her to marry me." I said with an ebullient grin on my face. Without another second, Chloe lost control of her vocal chords and shouted with joy.

"SHUT. UP! YOU'RE GOING TO MRMF? " She said loud enough to wake the dead. I would've been horrified had Max not clapped her hand over Chloe's mouth before she let the cat out of the bag. "You're going to propose?!" Chloe whispered after having gathered her senses.

"Yes. That being said, I think it would be wise to wait at least another few weeks, maybe a month at most before I follow through on it. I don't want to make a decision that monumental while too emotionally charged. Does that make sense?" I asked the two of them.

"Daniel, it sounds beautiful. I'm so happy for you." Max said as she came in for a hug. Chloe soon joined us.

"Just don't forget to invite us to the wedding!" Chloe said. I instinctively shot my finger up to my lip to tell her to shut up as she amicably punched me in the shoulder.

"Nothing's set in stone just yet, but if all goes well, I'll have both of you on the guest list." I replied.

"I can hardly wait. Still, we really should be going." Max said.

"Fair enough. Thank you both so much for coming by. Katie's recovering surprisingly well, but I know she still needs all the love we can give her." I said with a sigh.

"Anytime. We'll see you later." Max concluded. The two of them then walked out of the hospital, holding each other's hands. Admitting this felt wonderful. I may have been a bit high on my emotionally intense state from the state of the past few days, but few things made me happier than the prospect. To not only be Katie's boyfriend, but her husband, her soulmate, her… She was already the center of my universe. To spend any significant amount of time without her felt depressing on a grand scale. When I opened the door to see her still sitting on the bed, drawing board and pen in her hands as she worked to create beautiful art; as she looked back at me with her hazel windows to paradise… I thought about forgoing my self-imposed waiting period and pulling the perfect ring from nowhere. What more can I say about this woman? I didn't just want to get back to everything being all fine and dandy. I wanted for us to be together more than anything else in life. Still, I dare not rush this. My emotions have gotten the better of me before, and they led me to disaster. I had an obligation to really put my mind into this. Regardless, just looking into her eyes was nothing short of blissful. Seeing her smile was divine, and to hear her say those perfect words…

"I love you, Katie." I said to her. I'd lost count of how many times I'd said that, but even though I'd said those words so many times, their meaning still sang truth every time. They never lost their charm. Every time she heard me say that, she would blush without fail. That sight never ceased to make me feel happy.

"I love you, too, Daniel." I'd never tire of hearing her say that. As I'd done infinite times before, I gently placed my hand on her cheek and moved in for yet another kiss. Even though such an act can seem mundane after a certain period of time, the inherent beauty of our relationship and love would never fade. Her lips, even without any gloss or chapstick, still felt softer than a pillow, and warmer and more inviting than a perfect hearth. The experience transcended any feeling that could be described with simple adjectives. This was, by its very essence, happiness. I would've stayed on her lips forever, but that fickle mechanism known as breathing forced me to gently separate our lips again. I wanted to tell her everything now, but I must be deliberate and rational. A decision of that magnitude should never be made without careful consideration.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful, relatively speaking. Nothing could distract me from my Katie. However, I did develop a tendency to look over my shoulder, checking to see if we would receive a visit from Victoria at some point. She never came to visit. Still, having received that card was more than good enough for us. Eventually, the day drew to a close, and I was told that visiting hours were over yet again. I wanted to protest, but there was no point in arguing. I was just going to come back tomorrow, anyway. Without any hesitation, I turned to Katie, gave her one last good night kiss goodbye, and told her once more that I loved her. No matter how many times I have to say goodbye, it'd never get any easier. I again walked out of the hospital with some reluctance, all the while looking back down over my shoulder intermittently to where Katie would be. By the time I arrived at the front of the hospital, however, I saw something shocking. A crowd of people had gathered in the parking lot, and everyone seemed to be looking at the sky. I walked out to see what the hell they were looking at, and when I did, I dropped my helmet.

In the sky, there were two fucking full moons.

I rubbed my eyes at first, thinking maybe my eyes were playing tricks on me, but I still saw the two moons. I turned on my phone to see what it looked like through the camera; two moons. I asked around to see if everyone else was seeing what I was seeing, and sure enough, I wasn't alone. There was no discrepancy between what people were seeing. I wanted to chalk it up to just seeing something bizarre, but my mind refused to let me relinquish its hold on the scene. I didn't know what this would mean, what I should do, or how to respond. I was unnerved by the scene intimately, and I even started to feel my heart pound faster than I'd felt it beat in ages, and my head started to swim. This didn't make any sense! What the fuck is this?! Without another moment's hesitation, I called Katie.

"Hey sweetie! You miss me already?" Kate lovingly chided. I bit my tongue to control it.

"Kate, look outside at the moon. Do it right now." I scared myself with how commanding I sounded.

"Daniel, sweetie, what's wrong?" Katie stayed strong with her tone.

"Sweetie, please. Look at the moon. There's a whole crowd outside looking at TWO full moons adjacent to each other!" I was starting to falter a bit with my tone.

"Okay, but calm down." Katie said. "All right, you said to look at the…" Katie suddenly went completely silent. I could hear her jaw drop as a crashing sound collided with my ear over the phone line.

"Katie? Katie? Are you still there?" I asked sounding far more panicked than I should. That being said, this was insane. I repeated myself once more, and Katie must've heard me then.

"Yeah! I'm okay. This doesn't make any sense! How can this happen? What does it mean?" Kate said. I wanted to answer, but my mind was busy taking me to all the worst places it could. I didn't have any idea how bad the circumstances at hand could pan out, but what could even be done in this situation? Should we flee? Should someone be alerted? What can be done?

"I don't know what to do, baby. I'm sorry." It killed me to be lost in this moment. I wanted so badly for everything to just be resolved; to make sense! Not knowing what else to do, I picked my helmet up off the ground and kept walking to my bike. If anything could be done about this, it was more than likely out of the hands of a mere twenty-something without any Star Trek-level equipment. I just knew that I could only do so much to protect Katie. I tried to convince myself that she would be fine, but no matter what I told myself, I couldn't find relief from the looming feeling of dread spawned by the absurd sight that threatened to pose a great distraction on my way back to Blackwell. Part of me wanted to stay here and wait with Katie, but I thought that sounded paranoid. There ought to be some kind of perfectly logical, scientifically sound explanation for this, and I was more than likely letting my protectiveness get the better of me. Still, that dread kept nagging at me from the dark corners of my mind, forcing me to consider the worst.

"…Daniel? Are you still there, Daniel?" Katie's words broke me out of my daze.

"Y-yeah, I'm here. Sorry. I'm trying to figure out what I should do. I don't know if I want to go back to Blackwell or get an overnight pass and stay with you." I said. The rational part of my mind kept telling me to calm down and just get back on my bike to return, but its effort was in vain to try and speak reason over the wild ramblings of the part that would not let me even put on my helmet.

"Sweetie, I know this may sound dumb to you, but… I think this may be a sign." Katie said, finally breaking the silence.

"Katie, I've read the Book of Revelation, and nowhere does it mention there being two moons in the sky." I immediately regretted biting that out.

"I know, and I don't want to fight about religion right now, but… regardless, I want you here." She said. I breathed a sigh of relief at all of her statement.

"Thank you, sweetie. I'm sorry for getting a little mad just now. I'll go and get a pass from the front." I said as I made my way back into the building.

"We'll talk about it later. I love you." Kate said.

"I love you, too. I'll see you in a minute." I said as I hung up. I talked to the receptionist about getting a pass, but she said I didn't need a pass, and that I could just go. I felt annoyed that I hadn't realized this prior, but put it out of my mind. I had more important things to worry about. I walked back to Katie's room, and knocked on the door. She opened and let me in, and before a single word left either of our lips, I opened my arms for a hug. She returned it, and I could tell that she was distraught. "We'll be okay, baby. We'll be okay." I tried to reassure her. I wanted to disguise my panic better, but I couldn't quite mask it perfectly.

"I know you don't know that." Kate said with her head resting on my chest.

"But I can still stay here to help you feel better." I responded. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too." She said as she turned her head to look into my eyes. She wasn't anywhere near tears, but I could still see the fear and uncertainty etched into her face. I put my hand on her cheek and kissed her forehead.

"Whatever happens now, at least we'll go through it together." I said as reassuringly as I could.

"Thank you so much, Daniel. Would… would you mind…" Katie paused for a moment. Whatever was on her mind was surely adding to her already present tension. Before I could speak to reassure her some more, however, she finished her sentence. "Please come cuddle with me…" She finally said, hands shaking and face red. Even after nearly a year of dating, I knew how nervous physical intimacy made Katie. She had broken down some of the barriers she used to see as absolute, but she'd always been adamant about how she felt about cuddling with one of the opposite sex lying down on a bed. I hugged her tightly as I reassured her.

"Of course, sweetie. I love you." I said as I gently broke our embrace for a moment. I put my jacket and helmet on a chair by Katie's window, took off my boots, and laid down next to her. She wrapped her arms around me as she laid her head on my chest. As I laid there, gently stroking her back, whispering that I loved her, and all the things about her that made me fall in love with her. It pained me to see her so unnerved, especially when I couldn't do much to help her feel better, but I'll be damned if I don't try my hardest to return all the kindness she'd shown everyone throughout her life; using all my wit to say all the right things. Even if there was no one ideal statement to make in a situation, I would at least tell her: "Whatever happens, I'm never letting go again. I love you, Katie." Eventually, we drifted off to sleep, and even despite the unknowability of the cause or effects of the two moons, I wanted to be with her. I'll never lose her again.


End file.
